In order to minimize power consumption an ever increasing number of devices support low power modes or standby states. Although there are existing mechanisms for a device to awake from a low power mode, e.g. the so called “wake on lan”, UPnP low power, a user interaction with the device, etc., the logic for when to set a device to a low power mode is not yet defined in a standardized manner.
In current implementations devices will automatically determine when to go to low power mode, e.g. based upon activity detection, or will allow the end-user to configure when to go to low power mode based upon time-schedules. Unfortunately, automatic detection of when to go to low power state is a challenge because of the unpredictable human behavior. A priori scheduling of low power mode, e.g. based upon time ranges, will often be useful. However, as usage of home network appliances does not follow a strict schedule, scheduling will not always be a suitable option.